Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My semi-random Traveller Races part 1: The Eldreth

Using Seventh Sanctum, which I mentioned in a recent post, I generated a gaggle of random alien races. I am currently sifting through them to find the ones I'd like to use. Some of them require modification, but a couple of them tuned out good enough to use right off the page. The names are of my own creation, as are a lot of the deeper details regarding description.

*The Eldreth- An enigmatic race of bio-mechanical humanoids. Eldreth stand between 6-7 feet tall, with thin, elongated limbs. They have vaguely insectoid features and their mottled flesh can be nearly any shade of gray or black, with darker, charcoal gray colored Eldreth being the most common. Their eyes are multi-faceted and bio-luminescent, with just about any hue represented.
Being bio-mechanical, each Eldreth is born with a series of circular plugs running up both arms, both legs, and the spine. Their chests sport three larger plug interfaces.(Think The Matrix) On their home world, Eldreth make heavy use of bio-mechanical tools and weapons that plug in to their bodies and are powered by the bio-electricity of the Eldreth anatomy.
Each Eldreth receives, at the time of adulthood, a biomechanical suit of armor, similar to a TL12 Vacc-Suit that can only be used by the individual Eldreth. (It plugs into his bio-mechanical ports.) The suits are usually blue in color, often with insignias indicating the Eldreth's clan, occupation, organizations to which he belongs, etc. Eldreth do not need the suit to survive in most standard environments, but they do have some cultural taboos about being seen unarmored by non-Eldreth races.
As a culture, Eldreth value games of cerebral skill over those of a physical nature. This is likely due to the physically awkward nature of the Eldreth. Of all the races, they seem to harbor the least amount of xenophobia; in fact, most Eldreth seem to have a propensity for learning about new ideas and new civilizations. (Even if they don't agree)
In game terms:
*Eldreth have Weak Dexterity (-2 to rolls, racial maximum is 10)
*Eldreth, being bio-mechanical, require high technology medical care. (TL 12+) For every TL below 11, the equipment, treatment, or medic has a -1 DM to the roll.
*Eldreth receive Vacc-Suit 0 and Diplomat 0 for free at character creation.
*Eldreth begin play with a customized TL12 Vacc-Suit.
*Eldreth have a stat called Charisma that replaces Social Standing when dealing with non-Eldreth races. This stat rolls at +1 and racial maximum is 16. (In increases whenever an increase to Social Standing is indicated.)
*Eldreth are never psionic and cannot become psionic in any way.